The cast of eccentric literary types was right up my street and wouldn’t fail to delight anyone who loves books about books. Thanks NetGalley!

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for supplying a copy of this e-book in return for an honest review.*

The elevator music of books, The House of Marvellous Books is a daily diary in the life of a failing publishing house employee. It is a book you are likely to either love, hate, or struggle to get through. The characters were whimsical in a low-key stereotypically British way and the text meanders along at life speed. The drama is definitely there but is low-key even in the final pages. Definitely not one for those that love action but a worthy read for people looking for something a bit different in these times of transition for the publishing industry.

Really quirky and unique read. I don't think I'm the right person for it but it did tickle me. That said, the writing style just didn't do it for me which always leaves you on the back foot with a book. I really struggled to find a way in. The premise was interesting and you can see the author's familiarity with the industry weaved through it. Unfortunately the level of detail also makes it feel quite niche. It just didn't quite translate into a novel for me. Nevertheless there is a lot of wit in it and a certain type of book lover will probably get a lot from this.

I honestly never thought I was going to end up in this situation when I first heard about The House Of Marvellous Books... I love stories with a bookish element, and in this case we don't just have a library setting, but also a publishing house in the spotlight AND a mysterious missing manuscript. I fully expected to have a fantastic time with this story, but to my surprise the complete opposite happened instead. Sadly, I knew after only the first couple of pages that the writing style simply wasn't for me. I tried to hang on, grow used to it and hopefully get distracted enough by the plot and characters themself to continue reading... But in the end it was no use, and I had to make the difficult decision to DNF quite early in the story. I usually try to read at least 100 pages, but in this case it felt like mission impossible. I'll try to explain briefly why The House Of Marvellous Books and me didn't get along.

My main issue with this book is without a doubt the writing style. There is just something about it that frustrated me from the very first page, making me struggle to convince myself to keep reading from the very beginning. It is most likely the pretentious tone, sentence building and word choice that made me want to throw my kindle against the wall... Although I had serious issues with the writing style in general. I guess this is one of those stories with a particular style that you either love or can't connect to, and sadly I belong firmly in the second group.

On top of this, there is no plot to speak of (or at least in the part I read), and it seemed like the story mainly consisted of the random ramblings of a rather pompous and VERY unlikeable man. While I do like the idea of reading the story through daily entries in the logbook of the main character, with this particular structure it is very important to be able to connect to him. In this case, I couldn't care less about what he had to say or what was happening, making it really hard to find the motivation to go on. Not even the bookish elements and the glimpse of the inner workings of a publishing house could save this one for me... And the supposed humor felt rather forced as well.

I tried pushing past my issues to see if things would improve, but I really couldn't stand having to deal with the writing style, characters and lack of plot a minute longer. Conclusion: sadly, The House Of Marvellous Books and me most definitely weren't ment to be. It seems to be a 'marmite' kind of book though; it provokes strong reactions either way, so don't give up on my account if you think this story could be for you. Maybe try a sample of the writing to see how you react to it?

A year in the life of a small publishing company, which is on the verge of ruin, as told by a junior editor.

I read the blurb for this and thought it sounded really good, but whilst it was an interesting read I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected to. The main character Mortimer, who tells the story in his diary is described as being a “junior editor”, but he came across as a bit of an old fogey. He reminded me of someone I knew at college, not really inhabiting the current century. We are told that the “House of Marvellous Books” is supposed to be on the verge of financial collapse, but I just couldn’t work out how it was managing to carry on at all. A triumph of hope over expectation perhaps?

The author has a background in publishing, and the background detail was extremely interesting, but as a novel I’m afraid it didn’t work for me.

I’m giving the book three stars as, whilst I didn’t particularly enjoy it, I can see that it has a market.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the proof

An Eclectic Bunch..
The House of Marvellous Books, a publishing house on the brink of collapse and hidden away in a virtually derelict part of London. Manned by an eclectic bunch and unikely to change. Narrated in diary format we meet the well crafted and colourful cast in a meandering tale of moving from one failure to the very next. Will their day ever be really saved? Enjoyable and eccentric, frothy and dryly amusing with memorable characters who have a tale to tell. Bibliophiles everywhere should not be disappointed.

The House of Marvellous Books is an antiquated publishing house with a peculiar book list and decidedly eccentric employees and workers. Housed in an ancient, listed building and hemmed in by covenants and a mysterious board who govern what goes on without ever showing their face or understanding publishing at all, they are on the brink of financial disaster.

Told through the eyes of Mortimer, a young man who at times appears to be about 85 years old and who is naive in the extreme, this charts a year in the life of the publishing house and their potential take over by strange, Russian financiers who lurk in the shadows.

This is a humorous look at the perils and pitfalls of publishing with larger than life characters and a Pooteresque vibe to it.

This wasn't my favorite. The storytelling is unique but it felt a bit convoluted and just didn't connect to me as a reader. The premise is interesting and for anyone it grabs, I'm sure they'll delight in the story. Unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was really excited about this because I love books about books. I had a really hard time getting into this. While I typically enjoy books with a slow start, and a lot of exposition, this was a really, really slow start. While I appreciate the use of journal entries as a form, this just wasn’t the book for me. I’ll hopefully try it again and will update if I do.

I really tried but I just couldn't get into this book. Mortimer just seemed too snobby for me, and I just couldn't connect with him at all. I didn't feel any sort of connection with any of the characters and so I DNF this one. That's really rare for me.

What a literary feast for book lovers! I laughed, I smiled, and I fell in love with the quirky characters. Thank you so much for this fantastic, satisfying ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Fairlight books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Sadly, this book wasn’t really for me, but I’m sure some people would really enjoy it. I ended up DNF-ing it, but I read enough to feel confident in reviewing it. I enjoyed the setting and characters, but I thought that the book was too long and it took awhile to get into. I normally love books that are told through journal entries, but I never connected to this one nor the main character, Mortimer. If you want to learn more about the publishing industry or an eccentric group of people, this book is for you, but if not, it may not be for you.

I thought this book was well written. This is a light and funny book set in a struggling little publishing company in London. Entertaining and humorous.

With witty and sharp observations, Fiona Vigo Marshall draws upon a career spent working in small publishing houses to create a laugh-out-loud ode to the publishing industry. Grab yourself a copy of this book! I absolutely loved this! I read this book within a day, I couldn’t put it down.

Do read this book for the vibes.

This is a story told through logbook form. It follows the day-to-day life of an editorial assistant named Mortimer and his experiences in the publishing house he works at, the titular House of Marvellous Books.

It was a slow start for me, and it took me a while to figure out what was happening (full disclosure: around 40% of the book). And even after I did finally catch up to where the story was going, I feel like this could have been a shorter book. I understand that the logbook narrative makes more sense when it documents a whole year, but I really could have done without the excerpts of Mortimer's work-in-progress.

What I really loved about this book, however, was the cast of characters. There was excellent character work here, and this might appeal to readers who are into character-driven narratives. Mortimer, Drusilla, and Fay make an excellent publishing trio, and I will certainly remember them long after reading.

I give this book 3.75 stars.

Thank you to Fairlight Books and Netgalley for the e-arc!

This book is told through a series of journal entries over the span of a year. We have Mortimer, a single, 38 year old male that works telling this story. Mortimer works at a publishing house that is on the brink of shutting down, called The House of Marvellous Books. One of the only things that gives the employees of "House Editorial" is the fact that there's a legend that says that somewhere in the library there is an old book called the Daybreak Manuscript that holds all sorts of knowledge that is worth a lot of money. We have a pretty much absent head publisher, an eccentric assistant, and a chief editor intent on finding the Daybreak Manuscript, as well as our narrator, who writes down all that is happening in the office.

This book is filled with witty insights, laugh out loud conversations, and moments that leave you stunned. One of my favorite things about this book was the fact that it was written in a series of journal entries. I thought that that made the book really interesting!

My only criticism of the book was that it felt like it could have been condensed at times.

The cover of this book is what drew me to it. It's beautifully designed. Unfortunately, I had a hard time following the story and connecting with the main character. I think this was more me than the book. I will definitely suggest it to other readers I know so they can give it a try!

This novel was both funny and odd! It was entertaining to follow the antics of the quirky folks. Everything was well-timed and kept things entertaining the entire time!

A fun quirky interesting unique read.I enjoyed this novel from beginning to end.The characters came alive had me laughing .The storyline unusual eccentric so much fun to read. #netgalley#fairlightbooks

This was supposed to be lovely. I love books about books or book worlds, in this case a publishing house, populated by offbeat characters and specializing in offbeat titles. And yet the House of Marvellous Books was decidedly less than marvelous.
It’s got all the Brit-specific floppy charm of Hugh Grant’s 90s hair, but with nothing to balance it out, the story essentially overpowers itself on one note quirk.
Told in journal entries, it follows the publisher’s trajectory over one especially turbulent year as told by a young assistant editor named Mortimer. Because of course a protagonist of a book like that would be named Mortimer.
The official description says that the author based this book upon her personal experiences of working in small publishing houses, so quite likely there’s a lot here that’s based on reality, albeit quirked up for style. And charm. The charm that for me fell flat.
I’m not sure how much of this is the book’s fault and how much of it is basic reader/author incompatibility, but for me it read dramatically exhaustively (and exhaustingly) overdone. Precocious and precious in ways that didn’t quite sustain for a volume of over 300 pages, making it a somewhat plodding read.
It might have worked as a quirky BBC sitcom, but as a book it was just too much of too muchness.
Mortimer’s bestie imprisoned for book theft (of course) provided some of the comedy; there were some other comedic elements, but it didn’t quite balance out the dense quality of the epistolary narration nor the fact that Mortimer isn’t that lovable of a chap. Although he is definitely a chap. Not a lad, nor a dude, nor a fella.
So yeah, overall, not enough plot for the page count and the look-how-quaint-and-quirky charm stretched too thin. Not a terrible read by any means, but far from marvellous. Thanks Netgalley.